Figures reveal 5C’s share of new iPhone sales: is this what Apple had in mind?

For the past several weeks, we’ve been hearing a lot of chatter about the iPhone 5C, and how it may not be living up to expectations. First there was word that Apple had moved to scale-back production of the 5C, only churning out half as many units as it previously had been. That general idea was later reinforced by a separate Wall Street Journal report, but that one disagreed on the specifics, claiming that Apple has instead slowed-down production of the 5C by closer to twenty percent. As we continue to try and get a more solid read on just how Apple’s new smartphones are doing, new research attempts to ascertain just what the current iPhone 5S/5C market share breakdown looks like.

The figures from Localytics show that globally, the iPhone 5S is selling faster than the iPhone 5C, at a rate of about 2.2:1 – specifically, the models’ shares of the total iPhone market are 3.8% and 1.7%, respectively. Of course, both those shares are certain to grow, but we’re less concerned with just how large they are, and more so with the balance between them.

That’s interesting data to have, but what does it mean? Well, that depends a lot on Apple’s own expectations for the 5C, and without that insight, it’s difficult for outsiders like us to read this in the same light. Frankly, seeing what’s essentially year-old hardware selling at even this clip sounds like a big success to us, but maybe Apple had different plans. We’ll be curious to see how this 5S to 5C ratio changes (if it does) in the months to come.

Stephen has been writing about electronics since 2008, which only serves to frustrate him that he waited so long to combine his love of gadgets and his degree in writing. In his spare time, he collects console and arcade game hardware, is a motorcycle enthusiast, and enjoys trapping blue crabs. Stephen's first mobile device was a 624 MHz Dell Axim X30, which he's convinced is still a viable platform. Stephen longs for a market where phones are sold independently of service, and bandwidth is cheap and plentiful; he's not holding his breath. In the meantime, he devours smartphone news and tries to sort out the juicy bitsRead more about Stephen Schenck!